Deep Fear is a 1998 survival horror video game co-developed by System Sacom and Sega CS2, and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It was one of the last first-party titles released for Saturn, and never saw a North American release. Set on the underwater Big Table research facility, the player controls John Mayor as an unknown infection begins transforming the facility staff into hostile mutants. Gameplay has Mayor exploring the Big Table, gathering items and resources while fighting enemies.
The game was designed as a science fiction take on the Japanese "Mansion Mystery" genre, with the aim being to create fear from the environments and monsters. Notable staff included co-producer Rieko Kodama, composer Kenji Kawai, and artist Yasushi Nirasawa as monster designer. The game met with mixed reviews from critics; praise was given to its music and elements of its gameplay−which was often compared to Resident Evil−while reactions to its graphics were mixed and the voice acting was panned.
Gameplay
Deep Fear is a survival horror video game where players take on the role of John Mayor fighting mutants that are overrunning the Big Table underwater research base. Mayor and other characters and enemies are portrayed using 3D models, while the environments are pre-rendered and shown through fixed camera angles. Mayor is controlled through both traditional tank controls, or with full analogue control using the Saturn's 3D Pad gamepad. The player navigates the Big Table, completing missions by finding certain characters and mission-related items, managing ammunition and resources such as first aid kits, and fighting enemies scattered through the environment.
Combat relies on guns, with Mayor having limited movement while his weapon is drawn. New weapons can be found at lockers scattered through the Big Table, which also allow the player to restock ammunition. Mayor can also carry one powerful "Special" weapon at a time. A key mechanic in-game is that each area in the Big Table has limited air supply, which is depleted over time and decreases quicker with gunfire. The air supply must be recharged at Air System terminals, with different areas having different air level limits to manage. The player must also use a breathing mask with limited air to explore underwater areas. The Air System terminals also act as save points. The player meets a game over if Mayor's health is depleted by enemies, Mayor's breath runs out, or local air supply runs out.
Synopsis
Deep Fear begins when a space capsule presumed lost for forty years crashes into the Pacific Ocean. A US Navy submarine picks up the capsule and brings it to the Big Table, an underwater research facility. Emergency Rescue Service member John Mayor, recently transferred to run safety drills and currently suffering from a cold, investigates with his submersible pilot Mookie after contact is lost with the submarine's crew, revealed to be due to crewmembers mutating into hostile monsters. Mookie picks up a survivor, who transforms after John disembarks and kills Mookie, sinking the submersible. The infection spreads onto the Big Table, mutating both the living and dead into monstrous creatures. Gena Wiseberg−who cares for a chimpanzee Anthony−discovers that Mayor's cold is preventing him from being infected. Under orders from the Big Table's controller Clancy Dawkins, Mayor works with both other survivors and a SEAL team to contain the infection.
The rest of the personnel on the Big Table, including the SEAL team, are ultimately either mutated or killed aside from Mayor, Wiseberg and Dawkins. Dawkins, unhinged by events, attempts to escape in the remaining submersible but dies to a stowaway mutant. Mayor and Wiseberg decide to use the moon capsule to reach the surface, but once there Mayor learns that Anthony was discovered on board. Wiseberg reveals that Anthony is the source of the infection, a radiation-mutated bacterium that was being used by Wiseberg and Dawkins in experiments related to deep space travel and hibernation. Mayor attempts to kill Anthony, which triggers Wiseberg's mutation into first a monstrous and then an angelic form. Mayor sets off the Big Table's self destruction sequence and uses the capsule to escape. When Anthony tries to follow, the defeated Wiseberg holds onto him, both dying when the Big Table is destroyed. Mayor, together with an uninfected dog, are rescued by the Navy.